Lottery winners could soon take home £10,000 a month for life instead of a big lump sum as part of changes aimed at encouraging more of us to play the lottery.
Camelot – the operator of the National Lottery – is considering plans to change the way some of its big prizes are paid.
A new game might see lucky winners get £10,000 a month for life. It is part of a number of options Camelot is looking at to try and attract new players.
One of its spokespeople was quick to point out the new smaller, regular payout wasn’t a measure to stop people blowing their big jackpot wins. He told the BBC a £10,000 monthly prize was for people who “had a different dream”.
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Lottery games that pay a monthly sum for life are common in America. It has been brought to our shores by Nigel Railton, the new chief executive of Camelot UK, who has previously worked at Camelot Global in Chicago.
If the new game is introduced it won’t be until 2019.
Ticket sales falling
The firm has reported poor performance recently with less money being raised for charitable causes around the country.
There has been a 3.2% drop in ticket sales over the six months to the end of September when compared with the same period last year.
Tickets sales fell by 8.8% to £6.9 billion in 2016/17 down from a record £7.5 billion the year before.
Back in 2015 changes were made to the Lotto draw, including increasing the number of balls from 49 to 59, and the chance of winning the jackpot fell from one in 14 million to one in 45 million.
Meanwhile, the cost of playing EuroMillions has increased by 50p to £2.50 a line.
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